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SUNSET BEACH, Oahu/Hawaii (Saturday, November 28, 2009) – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, claimed her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title on Saturday, making history as the only surfer ever to win the prestigious crown each year she has contested it at the elite ASP World Tour level (men’s or women’s).

Winning the crown was somewhat unexpected as today’s competition began with six surfers in contention for the 2009 ASP Women’s World Title. With each heat advancement and the narrowing of the field at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, Event No. 6 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the irrepressible Gilmore navigated her way to her third ASP Dream Tour Title.

“It’s surreal to win for a third time,” Gilmore said. “It’s amazing! I woke up this morning and knew it was going to be a good day. The waves were building and you sort of get that fuzzy feeling throughout the day. I really don’t even know what to think about it. I just want to thank everyone for the support that I’ve had throughout the whole year.”

Gilmore, who was focused on preparing for the Final at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, had remained intentionally aloof to the ASP Women’s World Title possibilities on the final day of competition, and was surprised when informed she had clinched the historic crown.

“I didn’t even know it was happening,” Gilmore said. “I was preparing for the Final and gearing up and then to know I had won, my head was a bit light. To go to Honolua and not have to worry about the title going into the event is just so relaxing.”

The phenomenal natural-footer went on to finish 3rd in the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, solidifying another sterling result on this season’s ASP Dream Tour, further cementing her position as the most dominant female surfer in the world.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the Women’s World Tour and go into events differently,” Gilmore said. “You get to know the breaks and it’s still my third year and I love traveling and competing and it’s such a special thing to get paid to do. I’m looking forward to next year and seeing different conditions and different waves on tour, I think there might be a couple of new stops, so yeah, I’m looking forward to having good heats and good waves.”

While the ASP Women’s World Title has already been decided, the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (an ASP Specialty Series) rages on with the final event of the year, the Billabong Pro Maui running at Honolua Bay from December 8 – 20, 2009.

Moore, who entered the Gidget Pro via a Trials’ victory, stamped her authority on ASP Women’s World Tour competition when she surfed with amazing poise and maturity throughout the event’s entirety to eventually win on her home Island of Oahu.

“It’s such an honour,” Moore said. “I’m speechless right now. I never thought that I would make the Final in this event. All of the girls were surfing so well and congratulations to Steph (Gilmore) for winning the World Title.”

Moore is no stranger to ASP Women’s World Tour competition despite her young age, and had previously reached the final at a Roxy Pro Gold Coast event in 2007 when she earned a runner-up finish to Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26. Having entered previous ASP Women’s World Tour events in the past as a wildcard, the young Hawaiian looked comfortable in the heightened level of competition.

“It definitely helps having other World Tour experience under my belt,” Moore said. “I also know surfing on the North Shore is always going to be challenging and the girls surf at such a sick level and each heat is a clean slate.”

Fitzgibbons nabbed her first Final appearance of her rookie year on tour and absolutely dominated her bouts, posting the event’s highest scores including the only perfect 10-point ride of Gidget Pro competition in the Semifinals to earn her maiden Final berth and finished runner-up to Moore.

“I was really happy to get that wave,” Fitzgibbons said. It was tricky. “There were not that many waves in that heat and I was happy to get the score and move on through to Final.”

Gilmore, who clinched her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title just minutes before paddling out for the Final, was in amazing form throughout the event’s entirety and claimed a third place finish overall.

“There were some legitimate bombs coming in out there,” Gilmore said. “I was on a 7’0” (surfboard) all day and just stayed on the North Peak and I knew Carissa has been training with Pancho, so I figured I’d follow her around a little bit.”

Blanchard, who is currently leading the Vans Triple Crown ratings, continued to flare throughout Gidget Pro competition and wrapped up a fourth place finish. Her final appearance was no easy task, as she defeated ASP Women’s World No. 2 Silvana Lima (BRA), 25, crushing Lima’s hopes of an ASP Women’s World Title while significantly helping her own chances of requalification for the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour.

“I feel bad that I knocked out Silvana (Lima), but there’s also a lot on the line for me,” Blanchard said. “If I don’t do well at the end of the year I’ll get knocked off of the tour for next year. This is my best result of the year, so I’m happy.”

South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge,22, will go into the final event on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Billabong Pro Maui at Honolua Bay, Hawaii, ranked No. 9 and well placed to re-qualify for a fourth consecutive year at the elite level of women’s competition.

Hodge was bundled out of the Gidget Pro at Sunset Beach in last place following two low scoring heats, but SA’s sole representative on the Women’s Dream Tour will be hoping that she can maintain her record at the Honolua Bay event where she has posted her best results for the past two years – a 3rd place finish in 2007 and 5th last year.

Hodge has finished No. 12 in the yearend rankings the past two years, re-qualifying due to retirements in her first year and via her ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) ranking last year. This year she finished outside the WQS qualification spots and needs to retain her position in the top 10 on the World Tour in order to qualify for another year at women’s surfing top table.

The Billabong Pro Maui has waiting period that runs from 8-20 December.

Ends

Pictured: Carissa Moore, 17, from Hawaii, won the Gidget Pro, Stop No. 6 of 7 on the ASP Women’s World Tour in solid 2-3 metre waves at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, on Saturday.

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

SUNSET BEACH, Oahu/Hawaii (Saturday, November 28, 2009) – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, has claimed her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title today, making history as the only surfer ever to win the prestigious crown each year they have competed at the elite ASP World Tour level (men’s or women’s).

The clinching was somewhat unexpected as today’s competition began with six surfers in contention for the 2009 ASP Women’s World Title. With each heat advancement and the narrowing of the field at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, Event No. 6 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the irrepressible Gilmore navigated her way to her third ASP Dream Tour Title.

“It’s surreal to win for a third time,” Gilmore said. “It’s amazing! I woke up this morning and knew it was going to be a good day. The waves were building and you sort of get that fuzzy feeling throughout the day. I really don’t even know what to think about it. I just want to thank everyone for the support that I’ve had throughout the whole year.”

Gilmore, who was focused on preparing for the Final at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, had remained intentionally aloof to the ASP Women’s World Title possibilities on the final day of competition, and was surprised when informed she had clinched the historic crown.

“I didn’t even know it was happening,” Gilmore said. “I was preparing for the Final and gearing up and then to know I had won, my head was a bit light. To go to Honolua and not have to worry about the title going into the event is just so relaxing.”

The phenomenal natural-footer would go on to finish 3rd in the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, solidifying another sterling result on this season’s ASP Dream Tour, further cementing her position as the most dominant female surfer in the world.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the Women’s World Tour and go into events differently,” Gilmore said. “You get to know the breaks and it’s still my third year and I love traveling and competing and it’s such a special thing to get paid to do. I’m looking forward to next year and seeing different conditions and different waves on tour, I think there might be a couple of new stops, so yeah, I’m looking forward to having good heats and good waves.”

While the ASP Women’s World Title has already been decided, the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (an ASP Specialty Series) rages on with the final event of the year, the Billabong Pro Maui running at Honolua Bay from December 8 – 20, 2009.

Highlights from the event are available at www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

SUNSET BEACH, Oahu/Hawaii (Tuesday, November 24, 2009) – With a decreasing swell on offer and solid surf projected throughout the remainder of the waiting period, event organizers at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach have called a lay day for competition.

Event No. 7 of 8 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach holds the dual-importance of potentially crowning the 2009 ASP Women’s World Champion as well as playing the second stop on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Series (an ASP Specialty Series).

“The surf is smaller than I’d like and the swell is expected to drop throughout the day,” Randy Rarick, Gidget Pro Contest Director, said. “We’re expecting a big swell to fill in tomorrow and will be back in the morning to assess conditions.”

At present, six surfers remain in contention for the 2009 ASP Women’s World Title:

Gilmore can secure her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title at the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, should she make the Final and the following scenarios unfold.

– If Gilmore wins Sunset, Lima needs a 2nd and Mulanovich is out.
– If Gilmore finishes 2nd at Sunset, Lima needs a 3rd, Mulanovich needs to win and Ho is out.
– If Gilmore finishes 3rd at Sunset, Lima needs a 5th, Mulanovich needs to win and Ho needs to win.
– If Gilmore finishes 4th at Sunset, Lima needs a 7th, Mulanovich needs a 2nd and Ho needs a 2nd.
– If Gilmore finishes 9th, 7th or 5th at Sunset, then Lima, Mulanovich and Ho are all in contention for the crown.

For Hedges and Bartels to remain a part of the mix, they need for Gilmore to falter at the last two events with either a 17th or 13th at Sunset so that they along with Lima, Mulanovich and Ho keep their World Title campaigns alive.

Alana Blanchard (HAW), 19, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie, took out the first event in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the Vans Hawaiian Pro (an ASP Specialty Event), but will need two strong results in the remaining two events if she is to requalify for the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour.

Surfline.com, official forecasters for the Vans Triple Crown, are calling for surf to diminish today before a solid NW swell arrives this evening.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible start.

The Gidget Pro Sunset Beach will be webcast LIVE via www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Tuesday 24 November 2009 – South Africa’s Travis Logie remained on track for a return to the elite ASP World Tour in 2010 despite being eliminated in his first heat at the Reef Hawaiian Pro won by Haleiwa local Joel Centeio in double overhead waves in Hawaii yesterday.

Logie, 30, finished equal 33rd in the 6-Star Prime rated ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) event, collecting 1 181 precious ratings points which added just 56 points to his overall tally. That saw the Durbanite drop one spot to No. 11 in the rankings but maintained his position in the Top 15 on the leaderboard going into the final WQS event of the year.

Needing to advance through one round to virtually assure himself of re-qualification, Logie placed third in a wave starved opening encounter where he required a score of just 1.24 points to overtake Jay Thompson (AUS), who went on to finish third in the event and cement his place on next year’s Dream Tour.

Royden Bryson was the only other SA surfer to reach the last 64 at Haleiwa. The Capetonian won his Round of 96 clash but was eliminated in fourth place in the hit and miss surf on Saturday where occasional waves provided the opportunity to record excellent scores but the majority of the world’s best surfers posted two-wave heat tallies of less than 10 points out of a possible 20.

Brandon Jackson, the second highest ranked Saffa, slipped four places to No. 24 after his early exit from the event and goes into the final event on the 2009 WQS, the 6-Star Prime rated O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, needing to place ninth or higher to give himself a chance of finishing in the Top 15.

Centeio’s victory earned the 26 year-old Hawaiian US $20 000 (approx. R150 000) and sees him take the early lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing – Triple Threat where the overall best surfer across the two WQS events and the season-ending ASP World Tour event – the Billabong Pipeline Pro – will pocket $50 000 and a $10 000 one-of-a-kind Nixon watch.

The 12-day waiting period for the O’Neill World Cup starts today but, with the biggest swell of the Hawaiian winter forecast to arrive within 24 hours, the event is only likely to get underway tomorrow. All the action from the event can be followed live at www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

About ASP:
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Thursday 19 November 2009 – South Africans Brandon Jackson, Rudy Palmboom Jnr. and Damien Fahrenfort were eliminated from the 6-Star Prime rated Reef Hawaiian Pro yesterday, leaving only Royden Bryson and Travis Logie still in contention in the penultimate event on the 2009 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the first event in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

The event got underway last Thursday on the first day of the 12-day waiting period, with former Capetonian Fahrenfort advancing to the Round of 96 when he placed a comfortable second in his opening encounter held in wind affected 1 to 1.5 metre waves at Haleiwa.

Five consecutive days with strong winds, plenty of rain and small waves saw the event remain on hold until yesterday when the balance of the Round of 128 and the first 14 (of 16) heats in the Round of 96 were run in clean one metre surf.

Palmboom, 21, from the Bluff demonstrated the experience he gained from a great run in the corresponding event last year, easily winning his opening heat to join Fahrenfort in the last 96, along with Jackson (Durban North) and Bryson (Cape Town), both of whom were seeded to start in that round.

Fahrenfort was the first to be ousted, placing third in his heat behind Hawaiian standout Bruce Irons and emerging Brazilian star Alejo Muniz. Jackson could not find a second high-scoring ride to add to his best ride of 5.57 out of 10 and placed fourth. Palmboom suffered a similar fate when, needing a score of 6.10 to finish second and advance, he fell just short with a ride of 5.50 points.

The result is a blow to Jackson’s hopes of qualifying for the elite ASP World Tour for 2010. Rated No. 20 on the WQS going into this event, Jackson now needs a minimum of a semi-final finish at the last event of the 2009 season, the 6-Star Prime rated O’Neill World Cup of Surfing which starts 10 Kms away at Sunset Beach next Tuesday, to have any chance of finishing in the top 15 on the yearend ratings.

Bryson will start his campaign in the Haleiwa event in Heat No.15, the first heat to be run when competition resumes, while Logie (Durban), currently ranked No. 10 on the WQS but as yet not assured of a spot in the top 15 at yearend, gets his challenge underway in Heat No. 3 of the Round of 64.

The waiting period for the Reef Hawaiian Pro runs until Monday 23 November and all the action can be followed on the live webcast at www.triplecrownofsurfing.com where there are also videos of every heat already run. Note that Hawaii is 12 hours behind South Africa, e.g. 8am in Hawaii is 8pm in SA.

REEF HAWAIIAN PRO

Day 2 RESULTS:

Round of 128: Results shown in order of 1st place through 4th. 1st & 2nd advance

South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge (East London), currently rated No. 9 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, will also be in action in the event at Haleiwa in the Vans Hawaiian Pro, a specialty event featuring the ASP top 16 ranked females plus four wildcards.

For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Thursday 12 November 2009 – The waiting period for surfing’s first US $1 million series of events kicks off in Hawaii later today as 144 men take to the waves in the 6-Star Prime rated Reef Hawaiian Pro, the first of three men’s and three women’s events in the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing that will crown the 2009 ASP World Champions, decide the men’s ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the qualifiers for the 2010 ASP World Tours.

The first event will get underway at 8pm SA time after Triple Crown Executive Director Randy Rarick made the decision to send the first round of heats out in 1 – 1.5 metre waves at Haleiwa.

Anticipation is at an all-time high after Vans’ announced that they will add $175 000 in Triple-Threat bonuses to the $825 000 in prize-money at stake in the events. $50,000 will be awarded to the men’s Triple Crown series champion, an extra $50,000 for the Billabong Pipeline Masters winner, a $50,000 bonus goes to the ASP World Champion, and a $25,000 bonus to the women’s Triple Crown champion.

The three events in the men’s Triple Crown are the Reef event (Nov 12-23), the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach (Nov24-6 Dec), the final event on the WQS, and the Billabong Pipeline Masters at Pipeline (Dec 8-20) that will crown the 2009 ASP World Champion.

The women also start out at Haleiwa with the Vans Hawaiian Pro (Nov 17-23), a specialty event featuring the ASP top 16 plus four rising stars, followed by the inaugural Gidget Pro Sunset Beach, the penultimate event on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, and culminating at the Billabong Pro Maui where the Women’s World Champion will be decided.

Nine South Africans will be involved in the pressure-cooker competitive atmosphere for the finale to the 2009 ASP season, all of them with career changing scenarios at stake as the world’s best surfers take on what are considered the worlds most challenging waves.

Jordy Smith is the best placed of the Saffas, comfortably ensconced at No. 10 on the ASP World Tour rankings. Smith significantly raised his competition game plan in his second year on the Dream Tour after finishing 2008 rated No. 26, just inside the re-qualification cutoff point of No. 27. The 21 year-old Durbanite collected the Triple Crown Rookie of the Year award back in 2006 when he finished runner-up to Andy Irons (HAW) at the Sunset Beach event and he also reached the final there last year, sustaining a knee injury that prevented him from competing at Pipeline.

Smith has elected to recharge his competitive juices rather than compete in the Haleiwa event this year, but will be going all-out to win at Sunset Beach and become the first Saffa to capture an event title in Hawaii since the introduction of the two-tier ranking system in 1992. Then its on to his first event at Pipeline where his initial goal will be to improve his yearend ranking to No. 8 and preferential seeding on the 2010 ASP World Tour, before pushing on to try and finish amongst the Top 5 and earn substantial performance related bonuses from his sponsors.

Fellow World Tour campaigners Greg Emslie (East London) and David Weare (Durban) have opted to miss both the Haleiwa and Sunset Beach events and will be jetting out of SA on 30 November so they can spend a full week practicing at Pipeline rather than competing elsewhere in the lead up to the crucial showdown in the season ending event.

Emslie, who turns 33 the day before he leaves, is right on the re-qualification bubble at No. 31 in rankings. SA’s most successful pro surfer with career prize-money earnings of $607 525 is only 137 points behind the No. 27 spot and while a 17th place finish will be enough to make that up, the East Londoner probably needs 9th place to ensure he secures an unprecedented 10th year at surfing’s highest level of competition.

Weare, 29, faces a bigger hurdle after a tough 2009 season that sees him ranked No. 41 and nearly 700 points shy of re-qualification. The super-fit Durbanite is upbeat about his chances, even though he needs to manoeuvre his way past the world’s best competitors and the top Hawaiian pros with their intimate knowledge of the break and into the final at Pipeline to have a mathematical chance of a top 27 finish.

On the WQS, Travis Logie justified his decision to fly from Canada to the Canaries by picking up 1 575 points at the Santa Pro last week and consolidating his No. 10 ranking going into the last two events in Hawaii. The 30 year-old Durbanite, who spent four years at ASP’s top table before dropping out at the end of last year, has waged a tenacious campaign on The Grind this year and is well inside the top 15 who will qualify for the 2010 Dream Tour.

Logie has not competed at Haleiwa or Sunset Beach since 2005 but is seeded into the Round 64 in both events this year and, as he only needs to advance through one round of competition to improve his ratings tally, he looks a good bet for a return to the top flight in 2010.

Brandon Jackson, 22, leap-frogged into the No. 15 ratings slot after his outstanding 3rd place in Canada two weeks back, but slipped up when he was ousted in his first heat in Santa Cruz last week and dropped back to No. 20 going into the Hawaiian leg. The talented Durbanite starts in the Round of 96 at Haleiwa and Sunset and needs a semi-final berth in one of the events, or two quarterfinal finishes, to claim a career defining step up onto the World Tour.

Capetonian Royden Bryson, a former two-year campaigner on the ASP World Tour, gave himself a mathematical chance of re-qualifying by emulating Logie with a 17th place finish in the Canaries. The 27 year-old now occupies the No. 29 position and needs a minimum of pair of semifinal results to press for a Top 15 ranking.

Former Capetonian Damien Fahrenfort matched his career best 6-Star Prime event result of 5th place at Santa Cruz last week and he and Rudy Palmboom Jnr. from the Bluff are now just 50 points apart ranked No. 67 and No. 66 respectively. They start their campaigns in the Round of 128 in both events and will be psyched to take full advantage of the bonus 40% increase in ratings points available in the Prime rated events and pushing hard to improve their rakings going into 2010 when the ASP will implement the much vaunted ‘one world ranking’ system that combines WQS and World Tour points.

Last but by no means least, Rosanne Hodge stormed into the top 10 on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings last week when she followed up her career best 3rd place result in Portugal with a 5th place finish in Peru. The 22 year-old from East London is now No. 9 going into Hawaii and will be looking to consolidate her position in the top 10 to ensure she re-qualifies for a fourth successive season in the highest echelon of women’s surfing.

Hodge will warm-up in the specialty event at Haleiwa before charging at the penultimate event of the year at Sunset Beach and then looking to repeat or better her excellent results in the season ending event in the epic barrels at Honolua Bay on Maui, the only Triple Crown event not run on the North Shore of Oahu.

The race for the ASP Women’s World Title is a four-way battle between reigning and two-time champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), who leads the ratings; Brazilian Silvana Lima, who is the only two-time event winner this year; former World champ Sofia Mulanovich, who won the last event in her home country of Peru to move into the No. 3 spot, and 18-year-old Hawaiian, Coco Ho.

The 2009 men’s crown is a straight shootout between Australian buddies Mick Fanning, the 2007 ASP World Champion, and Joel Parkinson, the defending Triple Crown champion, each of whom have won three events this season. Parkinson needs to finish two positions higher than Fanning in the Billabong Pro Pipeline to overtake his compatriot and clinch his first World title.

All the action throughout the six events can be watched via live webcasts at www.aspworldtour.com or www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Event No. 5 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Movistar Peru Classic culminated in offshore three-to-four foot (1 – 1.5 metre) waves at Lobitos today, and delivered all the drama and action the fans had been waiting for.

Mulanovich, who suffered a horrific wipeout yesterday, was a standout in the hard-fought Final, muscling through one section after another on her backhand, to post an impressive 15.00 out of a possible 20. While the lead would seesaw back and forth between the Peruvian and the Australian, it was ultimately Mulanovich who would come away with the win in front of a raucous crowd on the sand.

“It doesn’t even feel real that this is happening right now,” Mulanovich said. “I have wanted to win this event for so long, and have always been disappointed. To do it here, in front of my friends and family and in good waves at Lobitos is a dream come true. Viva Peru!”

The win boosts the former ASP Women’s World Champion (2004) from fourth to third on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour ratings and puts her within striking distance of the crown heading into the business end of the season.

“I haven’t had the best season and I was really waiting for a breakout result,” Mulanovich said. “To finally get it at home is really special. I am just so stoked.”

Gilmore’s Runner-Up finish today marks her third of the season, and while missing out on making it three-in-a-row in Peru, the Australian is still pleased with her performance.

“Definitely been pretty consistent with making Finals,” Gilmore said. “Obviously I was looking for another win. But in a way, it is pretty special to see Sofia (Mulanovich) win, like, it is crazy. There are thousands of people on the beach here in the middle of nowhere, it is just phenomenal. To make another Final felt good. I had a lot of fun. It was good to see Sofia up there and not Silvana (Lima) or Coco (Ho), it is going to make the ratings really interesting and it’s keeping things really tight and close between everyone. It is going to be an exciting finish in Hawaii.”

Gilmore retains a slender lead over challengers as she contests for a third, consecutive ASP Women’s World Title, but retains collected frame of mind heading into Hawaii.

“The world title is in your head sometimes,” Gilmore said. “It is just event by event. This event was a good one as everyone was surfing so good and so after a fifth in Portugal, I wanted to come here and perform really well and I put my mind to it and I did it, the title race is hot.”

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 18, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie, matched her best result of the year with an equal 3rd at the Movistar Peru Classic. Arguably one of the most in-tune performers at Lobitos, Fitzgibbons lost a nail-biter Semifinal to eventual winner Mulanovich.

“I’m definitely happy with my performance,” Fitzgibbons said. “I have felt good this whole event and it came down really close there at the end. I knew that set was on the horizon and I couldn’t hold on in the end. It would be amazing to make it through to a Final. I will take the third place but it is always nice to be there on the podium and in the Final. I will just keep trying and doing what I am doing and hopefully crack it pretty soon.”

Coco Ho (HAW), 18, 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour rookie and winner of the previous event in Portugal, was a major standout at the Movistar Peru Classic. Ho took down fellow Hawaiian rookie Alana Blanchard (HAW), 19, and stylish natural-footer Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 22, before falling agonizingly close to Gilmore in the Semifinals.

“It’s always hard having a 9 and waiting for your second score but that’s what surfing with the Champ is all about,” Ho said. “It was frustrating seeing the waves I needed coming in after the heat, but that’s okay. Competing against Steph definitely pushes my surfing and I’m happy with an Equal 3rd.”

Despite missing out on a Final’s berth in Peru, Ho is looking forward to finishing the year at home in Hawaii and the finale of the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie of the Year race.

“I’m definitely looking forward to heading home and finishing the season in Hawaii,” Ho said. “Rookie of the Year and a Top 5 finish has always been my goal, but Sally (Fitzgibbons) is right there and it will come down to the wire.”

Highlights from the Movistar Peru Classic are available via www.aspworldtour.com

The next stop on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour is the Gidget Pro at Sunset Beach, Hawaii from November 24 through December 6, 2009.

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Durbanite Brandon Jackson finished third in the 6-Star rated Oakley Cold Water Classic Canada at Tofino on Vancouver Island on Saturday to jump from No. 20 to No. 15 on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rankings.

Jackson, 22, from Durban North, started the final day by marching past Mark Matthews (AUS) in their quarterfinal encounter but came up short against Jay Thompson (AUS), the first alternate for the 2009 ASP World Tour, in a semifinal match-up held in stormy 1-1.5 metre waves.

“I’m really stoked on the aspect that I got 1800 points out of this result,” Jackson said. “I was hoping to get 1600, it’s a super bonus. To surf all week and not get the win is tough, but I’m really stoked on the outcome.”

The result earned Jackson US $5 000 (approx. R37 000) and 1 875 precious ratings points which replaced the 875 points he was carrying as his seventh best score of the year. The net gain of 1 000 points elevated him into contention for a spot amongst the world’s Top 45 ranked surfers on the 2010 ASP World Tour.

The event produced a fairy-tale finish when local Tofino surfer Peter Devries trounced the world-class lineup of international stars to become the first Canadian to win a WQS event, in the first WQS event to be staged in Canada. Devries started in Round 1 and won every heat bar his Round of 48 match-up, leaving runner-up Jay Thompson in comboland from the 10 minute mark in the final, to collect the US$20 000 winner’s paycheque.

Four 6-Star Prime rated WQS events remain on the 2009 WQS schedule, two of them overlapping this week as events take place simultaneously in the Canary Islands and in Santa Cruz, California, and the final two at Haleiwa and Sunset Beach in Hawaii.

Jackson has opted to compete in the Santa Cruz event at Steamer Lane, the fifth and final leg of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series, and will be hoping to continue his rich vein of form in the second half of 2009 to wrap up qualification before the notoriously difficult Hawaiian contests.

Meanwhile fellow Durbanite Travis Logie did not manage to improve his ratings total in Canada, finishing equal 37th and slipping from No.10 to No. 11 when he was overtaken by Dusty Payne (HAW) in the rankings. Logie has chosen to jet back across Canada and the North Atlantic to compete in the Santa Pro on Lanzarote Island in the Canaries where he hopes the world-class left of San Juan will give him better opportunities to improve his ranking before the Hawaiian leg.

Logie will be joined in the Canaries by Durbanites Warwick Wright and Antonio Bortoletto along with Capetonian Royden Bryson, who at No. 31 can still force his way into contention for a top 15 finish if he can reach the final and benefit from the 40% increase in ratings points awarded in 6-Star Prime rated events.

Capetonians Dave Richards and Sean Holmes and Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) will start from Round 1 in the Californian event while Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), Damien Fahrenfort (California) and Jordy Smith (Durban) will join Jackson in starting in Round 2. Smith is the No. 2 seed for the event which he won in 2007.

For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

LOBITOS, Piura/Peru (Monday, November 2, 2009) – The world’s best female surfers are heating up the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour as Event No. 5 of 7, the Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl, commences its waiting period tomorrow.

Hot off the heels of two impressive events in Sydney and Portugal, the ASP Top 17 have traversed the Atlantic and are preparing to do battle in Northern Peru’s long lefthanders. Into its third year as an ASP Women’s World Tour event, this year’s Movistar Peru Classic will endeavor to bring the world’s best women’s surfers to the fabled lefthander of Lobitos for the first time ever.

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current ASP Women’s World No. 1, will look to claim her third consecutive event win in Peru this season, the stylish natural-footer having been dominant in 2007 and 2008.

“I definitely feel its achievable (winning three years in a row),” Gilmore said. “It’s such a cool event to win, I can’t wait to get started.”

Last year’s Peru victory saw Gilmore vault ahead of former ASP Women’s World Champion (2004) Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, in the hunt for the 2008 ASP Women’s World Title, a lead she would not relinquish. While the Australian sits in the No. 1 spot on this year’s ASP Women’s World Tour ratings, she knows how crucial a result this season will be to stay ahead of current ASP Women’s World No. 2, Silvana Lima (BRA), 25.

“Obviously a win at this event would come with some very valuable ratings points,” Gilmore said. “I’ll take as many as I can get right now.”

Coco Ho (HAW), 18, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie and current ASP Women’s World No. 3, scored her breakout result last week, claiming the Rip Curl Pro Search in Portugal over former ASP Women’s World Champion (2005) Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26. Sitting at third on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour ratings, Ho is a real contender in challenging Gilmore and Lima for the top spot, but remains focused on achieving ASP Rookie of the Year and the Top 5 rating.

“I am kind of focusing more on the close battle for the Rookie of the Year,” Ho said. I’m just trying to stay on top of my game and not let this victory blow up my head and then I start losing. I just want to stay focused – there is still a long road ahead. I would really like to be Rookie of the Year and to stay Top 5, that would be the year of my life. Sally (Fitzgibbons) and Paige (Hareb) have both been really consistent, but I would have to say Sal is my biggest competition. We are both regular footers and she always pushes me. I always want to go out and surf as well as she did and she does a good job of pumping me up.”

The Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl will host the ASP Top 17 from November 3 – 8, 2009.

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.